Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
A group of 96 UK parliamentarians are demanding stronger economic action against Israel, following Britain's recent moves to impose sanctions on individual Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and suspend new trade talks.
In a letter to the Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday, the parliamentarians, including 72 MPs, expressed “grave concern” over the “relentless violence against Palestinians” across Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
They welcomed the UK’s recent measures but said that they “fall short of what is needed”. They called on the government to “move beyond sanctioning individual settlers but sanction state officials, including ministers, and introduce sanctions in respect of the state of Israel”.
They also called for a ban on trade with illegal settlements and the suspension of the existing free trade agreement with Israel.
“Failure to act not only undermines the integrity of the agreement but also signals tolerance for grave breaches of international law,” the letter said.
Mr Starmer recently changed his tone on Gaza, describing the humanitarian crisis as “intolerable” and “appalling”. Last week he told MPs the UK would “keep looking at further action along with our allies, including sanctions”, but that a priority was to “get back to a ceasefire”.
The letter said the UK’s focus on aid reaching Gaza was too “narrow” that did “not address broader systemic violations” by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
The signatories came from across parties, and included Labour MPs Diane Abbott, Valerie Vaz, and Abtisam Mohamed, Conservative MP Kit Malthouse, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who has Palestinian heritage, and independents including Jeremy Corbyn and Shockat Adam.
Barristers Helena Kennedy and John Hendy, and former Conservative minister Sayeeda Warsi, who all sit in the House of Lords, were also among the signatories.
It comes as 300 Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office staff who raised concerns about the UK’s policy on the Israel-Gaza war were told they could consider resigning.
The staff letter was sent to Foreign Secretary David Lammy last month, according to the BBC.
In it, officials questioned the UK's continued arms sales and what they called a "stark … disregard for international law" by Israel. They feared that the UK government could be viewed as “complicit” in Israel’s alleged breaches.
The May 16 letter said: "In July 2024, staff expressed concern about Israel's violations of international humanitarian law and potential UK government complicity. In the intervening period, the reality of Israel's disregard for international law has become more stark."
In its response, the Foreign Office said it had systems for staff to raise concerns and added that the government had "rigorously applied international law" in relation to the war in Gaza.
Sir Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer, the two most senior civil servants in the Foreign Office, drafted the reply, telling signatories: "[I]f your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound your ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service. This is an honourable course.”
It is believed to be at least the fourth time that civil servants have expressed their concerns to ministers since the war began in October 2023.
The signatories are understood to represent a wide range of expertise across Foreign Office departments, embassies and missions, in London and overseas.
The letters have reflected the scale of the civilian death toll in Gaza, Israel's restrictions on the supply of aid and Israeli settlement expansion and settler violence in the occupied West Bank, among other issues.
Staff who are required to implement decisions also fear they could be liable in any future legal proceedings against the UK government.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “Since day one, this government has rigorously applied international law in relation to the war in Gaza.
“One of our first acts in government was to suspend export licences that could be used by the Israeli [military] in Gaza.
“We have successfully implemented the suspension decision and continue to refuse all relevant licence applications.
“We have suspended direct exports of F-35 parts for use by Israel, and we categorically do not export any bombs or ammunition which could be used in Gaza.
“We have also suspended negotiations on a free trade agreement, while supporting humanitarian efforts through the restoration of funding to UNRWA, and the commitment of over £230 million in assistance across the past two financial years.”
They added: “It is the job of civil servants to deliver on the policies of the government of the day and to provide professional, impartial advice as set out in the Civil Service Code. There are systems in place which allow them to raise concerns if they have them.”
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali
Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”
Favourite TV programme: the news
Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”
Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Match statistics
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 36 Bahrain 32
Harlequins
Tries: Penalty 2, Stevenson, Teasdale, Semple
Cons: Stevenson 2
Pens: Stevenson
Bahrain
Tries: Wallace 2, Heath, Evans, Behan
Cons: Radley 2
Pen: Radley
Man of the match: Craig Nutt (Harlequins)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)
Results:
Women:
1. Rhiannan Iffland (AUS) 322.95 points
2. Lysanne Richard (CAN) 285.75
3. Ellie Smart (USA) 277.70
Men:
1. Gary Hunt (GBR) 431.55
2. Constantin Popovici (ROU) 424.65
3. Oleksiy Prygorov (UKR) 392.30
